Green Tea Daifuku with Red Bean Filling

I heart Daifukus!

I love their chewy texture and the different types of fillings that they can come in.

Daifuku, meaning 'great luck' in Japanese, is a confection comprised of mochi (glutinous rice cake) stuffed with a sweet filling. I've always been hesitant to make daifuku as i was scared to stuff things up. The closest thing I've ever made was Tang yuan (glutinous rice balls) with sesame filling which only involves boiling and not steaming and handling hot mochi.

Anyways, i did put my fears aside (also because i was craving for some daifuku really badly) and went for it. I got all the ingredients that i needed and started my daifuku-making. I did some research beforehand and decided to follow a video recipe by Cooking with dog. I did not make Strawberry Daifuku (as shown in the video) but Green Tea ones with red bean filling. I kinda doubled the quantities as i wanted to make more than just six Daifukus and i used a can of Morinaga Yude Azuki Boiled Red Beans and some green tea powder.

The daifuku turned out delicious but the filling was a tad sweet - perhaps i should make my own red bean filling next time =P Sorry for the not-so-good-looking daifukus, i promise to brush up my 'wrapping' skills.

So here you go!

[makes about 12 daifuku]

- 200g Glutinous Rice Flour

- 3 1/2 tbsp Caster Sugar

1. Shape the Red Bean filling into balls and set them aside in the fridge.

2. Sift the glutinous rice flour and green tea powder together. Add in the caster sugar.

3. Add water to the mixture in step 2. Using a spatula, stir the mixture until you reach a 'paste-like'

consistency.

4. Pour into a non-stick bowl (i brushed mine with oil as i didn't have one) and place it in a steamer. Steam it for 15 minutes on a high heat. The mochi should look thick and slightly translucent.

5. Line a baking tray with baking paper and dust potato starch over it. When the mochi is ready, transfer it to the baking tray and dust potato starch over it. Dust your hands with potato starch before handling the mochi as it is very sticky. Flatten the mochi slightly and cut it into 12 portions.

6. Take one piece of mochi, flatten and stretch it out until it forms a round disc. Dust off any excess of potato starch and place a red bean filling in the middle and wrap the mochi around it by pulling and stretching the mochi. Shape it into a round ball and seal the seam by pinching it.

7. Do the same with the rest of the mochi. (Note: Work quickly as the mochi gets less flexible as it cools down)